The Grateful Dead FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Greatest Jam Band in History

by Tony Sclafani

Overview

(FAQ). The Grateful Dead rose out of San Francisco's '60s underground rock scene with an unprecedented sound and image. Its members, steeped in rock, folk, classical, and blues; their instrumental prowess; and their refusal to bow to commercial conventions helped originate jam band music. Unapologetic in its advocacy of drug use as a means toward mind expansion, the Dead helped catapult psychedelic music. After performing at the Monterey International Pop Festival and Woodstock, the group became iconic without ever scoring a hit single. A large, devoted fan base "Deadheads" began to follow the band everywhere. The group suffered a tragedy when bandleader Jerry Garcia slipped into a coma in 1986, but returned the next year with a top-selling album and surprise hit single, "Touch of Grey." By 1993, the Dead was the top-grossing live act in the United States. The band ended when Garcia died in 1995, but the music lives on with a stream of live releases. In Grateful Dead FAQ , Tony Sclafani examines the band's impact and influence on rock music and pop culture. This book ventures into unexplored areas and features a host of rare images, making it a must-have for both Deadheads and casual fans.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781617130861
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	09/01/2013
Series:	FAQ
Pages:	376
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Tony Sclafani (Washington, DC) is a journalist and a regular contributor to NBC online (formerly MSNBC/Today Show.com). He has also written for the Washington Post and its free daily, Express, as well as Relix, the Village Voice, Harp (now Blurt'), 'the Washington City Paper, Hittin' the Note, Pop Matters, Record Collector, and DC Magazine. He is a longtime fan of '60s psychedelic music and the Grateful Dead.

Table of Contents

Foreword ix

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction: Box of Rain xiii

1 I Am Who I Am: A Primer on the Grateful Dead's Twelve Official Members 1

2 Prelude: A Brief History of the Grateful Dead 9

3 Friends of the Devil: Who's Who in Deadland 19

4 Sing Me Back Home: Ten Artists Who Influenced the Grateful Dead 31

5 A Band Beyond Description: A Dozen Elements That Shaped the Dead's Music 39

6 That's When It All Began: The San Francisco Scene of the '60s 48

7 The Music Never Stopped: Why Does the Grateful Dead Still Interest People? 57

8 False Alarm: Why Naysayers Were Wrong About the Dead Not Being a Studio Band 67

9 Trouble Behind, Trouble Ahead: Five Reasons People Hate the Dead 75

10 Cryptical Envelopment: The Dead's Studio Recordings, 1967-69 84

11 High Time: The Dead's Studio Recordings, 1970-75 94

12 Now We Play for Clive: The Dead's Studio Recordings, 1977-89 109

13 New Ones Comin' as the Old Ones Go: Why There Are Two Aoxomoxoas 122

14 I Was There: Bob Weir on Haight-Ashbury and Monterey Pop 131

15 Looks Like Rain: Why the Dead Didn't Really Blow It at Woodstock 134

16 Live/Dead: How the Dead Established the Double Live Rock Album 142

17 One Man Gathers: A Look at the Dick's Picks Live CD Series 149

18 I Was There: David Lemieux on Archiving the Dead's Catalog 158

19 He's Gone: What Role Did the Late Ron "Pigpen" McKernan Play in the Dead? 164

20 Dark Star: What Place Did Tom Constanten Have in the Dead's Music? 172

21 Ship of Fools: The Dead's Ten Worst Decisions 180

22 I'll Sing to Them This Story: The Significance of Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay 186

23 I Was There: Dean Grabski's Tales of a Taper 197

24 Playing in the Band: A List of Significant Dead Concerts 201

25 Ace: A Dead Album with Weir as the Leader of the Band 208

26 One Old Score: The Great Lost Grateful Dead Studio Album of 1972 216

27 Sing Me a Song of My Own: Dead-Related Solo Albums and Record Labels 225

28 Sunshine Daydreams: Rare Films, DVDs, and TV Programs 236

29 Eyes of the World: A Roundup of Unreleased Live Dead Footage 244

30 For the Faithful: A Dozen Essential Bootlegs 267

31 Searching for the Sounds: Fifteen Obscure Dead Collectibles 277

32 Ripple in Still Water: What Happened When Deadheads Invaded a Town? 286

33 I Was There: Toni Brown on Documenting the Dead 295

34 Strange Deadfellows: Five Surprising Grateful Connections 299

35 Days Between: The Final Dead Album That Never Was 305

36 Built to Last: Ten Places the Dead Left Their Mark on Popular Culture 315

37 Garcia the Seer: How a Guitarist Became a Cultural Icon 324

38 Unbroken Chain: A Dozen Artists Influenced by the Dead 331

39 With a Net: Online Resources for Deadheads 339

Selected Bibliography 343

Index 345